The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 2

The most confusing time of year

5 1-1 draws last week, 5 1-1 draws this week. This is going to get tedious. We also had two players score a goal and get a red card in the same match. This is taking parity to absurd levels. There’s still a lot of shuffling about before things start to even out, but there are a couple of standouts at either end of the rankings already.

Rank Team Previous Change Record Notes
1 San Diego Loyal 3 +2 2-0-0 San Diego took a leaf out of San Antonio’s book, holding just a third of the total possession, but completely dominating Phoenix in the 3-0 win, including a goal from newcomer Ronaldo Damus. A statement game early. SacRep on Saturday.
2 Louisville City 1 -1 2-0-0 Brian Ownby was the entire game in Monterey, scoring the only goal and then getting a second yellow red card, which was about the best thing to happen to El Paso so far this season. Overall, a very tight game.
3 San Antonio 2 -1 1-0-1 San Antonio gave up 65% of the possession but outshot Loudoun 15-5 (7-3 on target). Loudoun’s Dane Jacomen made 6 saves, but it was Jordan Farr’s 2 saves that held the game to a 1-1 draw. Less convincing than the title favorites should be and Colorado Springs are next.
4 Sacramento Republic 5 +1 1-0-1 SacRep were down a goal after 22 minutes and down a man after 36, but still managed to end the game even 1-1 with Charleston in what was a pretty entertaining contest. Another tough test this week as San Diego comes to town.
5 Birmingham Legion 8 +3 1-0-1 The Legion staged a dramatic late comeback to beat Tulsa 3-2. Some midfield issues remain, though. Will the return of Enzo Martinez fix them? Next: first road trip of the year to a rather shaky Hartford.
6 Tampa Bay Rowdies 4 -2 0-0-2 The Rowdies needed a late Zach Herivaux goal to tie 1-1 in Orange County, and were the weaker team on the night. They were outshot more than 2-1 both overall and on target. 2 points so far for a team that should be a contender don’t look that great. A trip to Charleston may not improve matters.
7 The Miami FC 6 -1 0-1-1 Miami’s 0-1 to New Mexico United was decided by a slightly unfortunate handball PK, and neither team really deserved full points, with attack being notably lacking all game. They travel to Pittsburgh Friday.
8 Monterey Bay Union 9 +1 1-1-0 Losing 0-1 to Louisville, even at home, is hardly a disaster, although they were unable to benefit from the man advantage late to tie things up. This Union side is much improved over last year. RGV in Texas next up.
9 Indy Eleven 10 +1 0-0-1 Indy Eleven were on a bye this week.
10 Charleston Battery 11 +1 0-0-2 The Battery are looking very strong offensively, but should have made the 56-minute man advantage hold up in the 1-1 draw in Sacramento. Still, they are not to be ignored this season and 3 points this week against Tampa Bay would not be surprising.
11 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 12 +1 1-0-1 Colorado Springs got a slightly late but successful start to their season in El Paso, winning 2-1, then tied Hartford 1-1 at home, scoring late in both games to get the points. They’ll need more heroics in San Antonio.
12 Rio Grande Valley Toros 13 +1 0-0-2 RGV should have been 3 goals up at the half and will be ruing their inability to finish in the 1-1 draw with Oakland. The second half was Oakland’s though and overall the game was pretty balanced. Another interesting matchup this week with Monterey coming in.
13 Loudoun United 14 +1 1-0-1 Zach Ryan emulated Brian Ownby, scoring early and then getting a red card (stupidly, for pushing the referee) in the 1-1 draw with San Antonio. The win over Memphis is not looking to have been an aberration. Tulsa up next in what could be be a good game.
14 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 16 +2 1-0-1 Albert Dikwa got a hat-trick to beat Memphis 3-1, although the game wasn’t quite as one-sided as the result suggests. They host Miami Friday, then a third road game in Tulsa Tuesday.
15 Detroit City 21 +6 1-1-0 Detroit’s 3-1 win in El Paso was assisted by an early own goal. They were also a tad lucky with some Locomotive shots, but got the finishes they needed. An interesting game against Indy upcoming.
16 New Mexico United 17 +1 1-0-0 New Mexico were the last team to play this season, and their 1-0 win in Miami was not exactly impressive for either side, being decided by a late PK after not much else. Now they are off again until April 1st.
17 FC Tulsa 15 +2 0-1-1 Tulsa made it close with 2 banger goals early in the second half, but couldn’t hold on. 1 point from 2 tough road games to start; a surprising Loudoun to open at home this week.
18 Oakland Roots 19 +1 0-1-1 Having withstood an RGV barrage in the first half, Oakland could have won the game at the final whistle but hit the crossbar. A much stringer performance than in Week 1, and with Memphis visiting the Roots may be thinking of getting into the win column this week.
19 Orange County 20 +1 0-1-1 Orange County can consider themselves unlucky not to get full points in the 1-1 draw with Tampa Bay in what was a very frustrating night for Milan Iloski who was kept off the scoreboard by 2 great defensive plays and missing an open goal. OC are showing signs of improvement.
20 Phoenix Rising 7 -13 0-1-1 Phoenix Rising’s 0-3 drubbing by San Diego show this team still has a ways to go before they can be considered among the league’s elite. They have the week off to let this loss really sink in.
21 Hartford Athletic 22 +1 0-1-1 Hartford’s defense wasn’t as leaky this week in the 1-1 draw in Colorado, although they were badly outshot. The worst of it though was the nasty injury to midfielder Andre Lewis that required hospitalization.
22 Las Vegas Lights 23 +1 0-0-1 Las Vegas Lights were on a bye this week.
23 Memphis 901 18 -5 0-2-0 Bruno Lapa got a goal to add to his assist last week, but that was the only positive in the 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. 2 home losses to start and Area Code FC looks inept. Adding veteran keeper Bill Hamid won’t fix their defensive problems. They visit Oakland next.
24 El Paso Locomotive 24 0 0-3-0 Wednesday, the Locomotive welcomed Colorado Springs, who scored early and late to win 2-1 and then outshot Detroit on Saturday but still lost 1-3. 3 home losses to start and a trip to Louisville this week won’t help.

 

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